Comprehensive Report on Global Staffing Strategies

Comprehensive Report on Global Staffing Strategies

Stellar Inc. is an IT research and development company located in the United States and currently in the process of merging with Hitachi, an already established IT company in China that is known for their marketing expertise and success within the industry. The CEO and Board of Directors of Stellar have requested that the HR division review and create a comprehensive strategy for staffing to help in the merger. Within this strategy the specific HR areas that must be addressed are: corporate, national and organizational culture of the companies, employee relations, standard employment practices, laws and regulations regarding employment on a local and international level as well as training and development programs both locally and internationally. This process will involve benchmarking other companies that have gone before as well as a clear understanding of culture not only through paper reports but going abroad into China itself and meeting the people and being immersed in the culture. Hitachi is a successful company but are inhibited by their labor force that lacks the technical background, education and training the company needs to expand. Stellar is a company that is based in research and development but not very strong in the marketing end of the industry. In the past Stellar has developed new means of technology and services for the industry but then usually sells that new technology to other companies who then market them and continue to make profits from Stellars hard work and effort. Stellar has decided it is time to expand into the marketing aspect of their industry by merging with an international company of good reputation that can provide them with the marketing strategies they need and offering in return knowledgeable and experienced employees. To Stellar it looks like a win-win situation where both companies can expand both business and profits. To entice Hitachi further, Stellar has let it slip that they have a couple of new cutting edge technologies in development and if a merger is successful Hitachi will reap the benefits of this as well.

According to many studies of HR practices and China, such as the one given at the China Human Resources Roundtable, it is not an easy process to establish relations with the Chinese. "It requires a thorough analysis of the country's cultural values and political and economic systems, coupled with a deep understanding of how these values and systems have formed and still influence human resource practices." (Swaak, 2008) What will make it easier for Stellar is the fact that they will not be establishing a new business but merging with an already established one. According to most benchmarking studies and research done by companies that tried to establish a company in China there are several absolutes that must be adhered to in order to be successful: one must be there physically in China and immerse yourself in the culture if you are truly going to understand its people and customs, establish a good relationship and contact early on in the process with the Chinese representatives of the company and make sure you are promoting a process that will benefit both sides, know the area of China you will be doing business in because the HR practices may vary from area to area and the Chinese, though willing to adapt to some Western HR practices, still need to feel in control of the company. In some areas of China they have more readily adapted to the Western version of business where in other areas the Chinese are still deeply rooted within the political factor. The advantage that Stellar will have walking into this environment is that China is in desperate need of research and development as well as the expertise of employees in this field.

There will be several HR challenges that Stellar will have to address most devoted to the cultural differences between the two countries; language barrier will be one, Chinese are very reserved, have a definite social order with a group consciousness, do not like external criticism, in the larger cities they are more cosmopolitan and more traditional in the rural areas. The Chinese have an emphasis on respect and obedience to authority and change is slow. Chinese do not like to be touched by people they don't know and a respectful distance must be maintained. Eating is an important way to build relationships with the Chinese people and when socializing it is customary to bring a small gift for the host or hostess. The family is more important than the individual with family ties being very strong and the elderly highly respected. Less than 10% of all people attend college (which accounts for the lower level of literacy in China compared to the United States, especially in the rural areas of the country) with the top students going abroad to study or to work for a corporation that will provide schooling. This aspect is starting to change right now in China with the building of more colleges and universities and the push towards more and better education in the fields of technology. Americans are not as reserved as the Chinese and often operate independently of each other on an "empower the employees" type mentality expressing our individualism within a group or team. Americans express themselves more openly and politics is not necessarily a matter of location. In many areas of the United States, especially with the advances in technology, change comes quickly and is welcomed as Americans are constantly trying to update and outdo someone else. American patience lasts only as long as the speed of our internet connection. The elderly in American do not command the same respect as those in China nor do all families take care of their elderly in a home setting. In the United States about 75% of Americans go on from high school to some form of higher education and our literacy level is very high.

The company culture of Stellar is also different from the company culture of Hitachi. At Stellar one of our mottos is work hard, play hard. The atmosphere at Stellar is more relaxed and it is frowned upon the employ individuals just because they are a friend or family member of an employee. Employee hires at Stellar are based on experience and growth potential as well as how the individual will fit within the company culture. Training an promotion are within the company whenever possible but due to the nature of the business plus growing and changing technologies at times it is necessary to hire outside of the company for specific positions that require a specific type of expertise or background knowledge. The working standards of the Chinese and American cultures have both similarities and differences. Both countries have a minimum wage law and are allowed bonuses, both have a standard work week of 5 days a week and 8 hours